Agriculture: pigeon peas, corn, sweet potatoes; sheep, goats, pigs, cattle, poultry; fishing (including lobster)
Exports: $556,000 (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities: lobster and salt
partners: NA
Imports: $33.5 million (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities: NA
partners: NA
External debt: $NA
Economic aid: $NA
Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.70 (fixed rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Transportation———————
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 105 km paved: 65 km unpaved: 40 km (1992 est.)
Ports: Blowing Point, Road Bay
Merchant marine: none
Airports:
total: 2
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 1 (1995 est.)
Communications———————
Telephones: 890
Telephone system:
domestic: modern internal telephone system
international: microwave radio relay to island of Saint Martin
(Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 1, shortwave 0
Radios: 2,000 (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 0
Televisions: NA
Defense———
Defense note: defense is the responsibility of the UK
======================================================================
@Antarctica—————
Map—
Location: 90 00 S, 0 00 E—continent mostly south of the
Antarctic Circle
Geography————
Location: continent mostly south of the Antarctic Circle
Geographic coordinates: 90 00 S, 0 00 E
Map references: Antarctic Region
Area:
total area: 14 million sq km (est.)
land area: 14 million sq km (est.)
comparative area: slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US
note: second-smallest continent (after Australia)
Land boundaries: 0 km
note: see entry on International disputes
Coastline: 17,968 km
Maritime claims: none, but see entry on International disputes
International disputes: Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctic Treaty Summary below); sections (some overlapping) claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France (Adelie Land), New Zealand (Ross Dependency), Norway (Queen Maud Land), and UK; the US and most other nations do not recognize the territorial claims of other nations and have made no claims themselves (the US reserves the right to do so); no formal claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west
Climate: severe low temperatures vary with latitude, elevation, and distance from the ocean; East Antarctica is colder than West Antarctica because of its higher elevation; Antarctic Peninsula has the most moderate climate; higher temperatures occur in January along the coast and average slightly below freezing
Terrain: about 98% thick continental ice sheet and 2% barren rock, with average elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 meters; mountain ranges up to about 5,000 meters; ice-free coastal areas include parts of southern Victoria Land, Wilkes Land, the Antarctic Peninsula area, and parts of Ross Island on McMurdo Sound; glaciers form ice shelves along about half of the coastline, and floating ice shelves constitute 11% of the area of the continent lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Vinson Massif 5,140 m
Natural resources: none presently exploited; iron ore, chromium, copper, gold, nickel, platinum and other minerals, and coal and hydrocarbons have been found in small, uncommercial quantities
Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 0%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 100% (ice 98%, barren rock 2%)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km
Environment:
current issues: in October 1991 it was reported that the ozone
shield, which protects the Earth's surface from harmful ultraviolet
radiation, had dwindled to the lowest level recorded over Antarctica
since 1975 when measurements were first taken
natural hazards: katabatic (gravity-driven) winds blow coastward
from the high interior; frequent blizzards form near the foot of the
plateau; cyclonic storms form over the ocean and move clockwise
along the coast; volcanism on Deception Island and isolated areas of
West Antarctica; other seismic activity rare and weak
international agreements: NA
Geographic note: the coldest, windiest, highest, and driest continent; during summer, more solar radiation reaches the surface at the South Pole than is received at the Equator in an equivalent period; mostly uninhabitable
People———
Population: no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are seasonally
staffed research stations
Summer (January) population: over 4,115 total; Argentina 207,
